How To Fix C:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\desktop Is Unavailable On Windows 10 1803 Login

The Windows 10 1803 update has a bug whereby it cannot find the folder located at C:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\desktop. The error makes it so you cannot access anything on your desktop and this error can appear if you’re updating from an older version or doing a clean install. The error surfaces once you’ve gone through the entire update process. Here are two ways to fix the problem.

Control Userpasswords2

Tap the Win + R keyboard shortcut to open the run box. In the run box, type cmd.exe and tap Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open Command Prompt with admin rights. In Command Prompt, enter the following, and tap enter.

control userpasswords2

This will open the User Accounts window. Click the Add button and add a new user. You can add a local user or a Microsoft account and assign it admin rights if you want. You can do this later as well if you want. Once you add a second user, restart Windows, and login with it. This is the easiest way to go if you don’t want to lose your files and have to install apps again.

Clean Install

If the above method doesn’t work, you still have two options and you may lose files and apps via one of them. You will need to create a install disk for Windows 10. Use the media creation tool and create a USB that can install Windows 10, connect it to your system and turn it on. It will ask if you want to upgrade the current installation. Select the upgrade option and when prompted, choose the option to keep both files and apps.

If you get the error again, try the previous solution one more time after you attempt the update from the USB stick. If that doesn’t work, you’re going to have to do a clean install of Windows 10. To keep your files save, you should try booting from a live disk to back up the files you want to save. Your apps will be lost once you finish installing Windows 10.

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The error message for this bug is called “Location is not available” but there are several bugs that have this exact same name. The above solutions work only if the location that the error reports as unavailable is C:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\desktop. This same error appears for other locations too and they may or may not have anything to do with the April update. They will also have their own solutions though it’s safe to say a clean install will fix them all.